cepts, and texts. It is a quaint and homely sajring, but as true in the Church as it is in the army, that "one volunteer is worth ten pressed men."
Notes. Lttkb IX. 51 — 66.
51. — [The time that he should be received up.] The Greek word so translated is peculiar, and is only found here in the New Testa- ment. It would be rendered more literally, " the days of his reception up." About the meaning of the expression there is a curious difference of opinion.
Some think, with Heinsius and Hammond, that the meaning is, " the time of his death and being lifted up upon the cross."
Others think, with Suicer and Bengel, that the meaning is, *' the time of his ascension, or being taken up to heaven."
This latter sense seems far the more probable of the two, and is confirmed by the fact that the Syriac and Arabic versions both render the word, " his ascension." Besides this, the Greek verb which is several times used to describe the ascension, is the very verb from which the word before us is derived. See Mark xvi. 19. Acts i. 2. xi. 22.
63. — [They did not receive him.] The wretched state of feeling be- tween the Samaritans and the Jews is painfully illustrated by the circumstance here mentioned. Charity was indeed well-nigh extinct, where such a state of things existed. Those who wish to see the origin of the estrangement between the Jews and Samaritans, should read 2 Kings xvii ; and Ezra iv.
54. — [His discipleSj James and John^ dc] There is something very remarkable in the spirit exhibited by these two disciples on this occasion. It shows us that it was not without good reason that our Lord called them Boanerges, or sons of thunder, when He first ordained them to be apostles. Mark iii. 17. It shows us also the gradually transforming power of the grace of God in John's character. Three times we have sins against charity recorded in the Gospels as committed by John. Once we find him and his brother asking to sit at Christ's right and left hand in His king- dom, and to be preferred before aU the other apostles. — Once we find him forbidoing a man to cast out devils, because he did not foUow the apostles. — Here again we find him showing a fierce and cruel spirit against the Samaritan villagers for not receiv- ing our Lord. Yet this was the apostle who proved at last most remarkable for preaching love and oharity. No chs^nge is too great for the Lord to work.
[Even as Elias did.] Appeals to the Old Testament, like this, hfLve often been made by fanatical men ixx X)rd9r to >u«tify violei^l